No home and no keys
16/2/2006 NST

I AM among perhaps hundreds of thousands house-buyers who are still waiting for the keys. I can tell you, the experience is not pleasant at all. The construction of my apartment has been one year behind schedule but the developer did not write to me to explain or apologise.

Just last week, I received a letter from the bank demanding RM65,000 plus interest. I was dumb-founded and shocked. When we register as a house-buyer and apply for a loan, we actually take a big risk. It seems nobody inside or outside the Government can help.

I learnt from some reports recently that there is no particular agency or authority that can help us tackle the issue. This fact prompted the Selangor Government to encourage the public to lodge a police report, so that action could be taken.

While I may one day lodge a report, I am dismayed with the fact that we, house-buyers are not protected. The banks chase us, we have to fork out substantial amounts of money in interest payments and what about house rent?

I don't know what the Housing and Local Government Minister is doing. There are many outstanding issues that have not been sorted out for too long. Housing should be removed from the jurisdiction of that ministry so that the minister concerned could focus on related issues.

The situation is deteriorating and there is no solution in sight. Developers can advertise, take our deposits, compel us to take bank loans and let us suffer and still get away with it. I wonder what happens to developers who run away and abandon their projects? I rarely hear anybody being prosecuted. I suspect that after several years, they resurface under a different name and cheat people again.

I don't see any good being done by Real Estate and Housing Development Association.

To whom should we turn?

AZMI ATAN, Balakong